NGOs criticized for sea rescues saving refugees | DW Documentary

In 2017, 95,000 refugees were rescued from the Mediterranean by humanitarian organizations. As a result, some NGOs have come under fire.
The NGOs have been accused of colluding with people smugglers and providing a refugee ferry service - a charge they deny. Meanwhile the EU is paying the Libyan coastguard to intercept the refugee boats and bring back their occupants to northern Africa.
Italy is straining to cope with the ongoing influx of refugees. Although 2017 saw fewer people attempting the perilous sea journey from northern Africa to the likes of Calabria, Apulia, Sicily and Lampedusa, the stream of people heading across the sea looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the Italian government claims that NGOs sometimes collaborate with people smugglers and have effectively set up a ferry service that no longer meets the definition of search and rescue operations. How much substance is there to the accusations? The NGOs reject the claims, with most of them refusing to sign a code of conduct that would commit them to strict - and in their eyes untenable - rules for rescuing refugees. While such a move would likely minimize the volume of refugees, it would inevitably lead to more people drowning. The new stipulations would also benefit the Libyan coastguard, which receives money from the EU to intercept the refugee boats and bring back their occupants back to northern Africa.
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